Berset urges Europe to defend democracy against authoritarianism

Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset says democracies must adapt and defend their principles as authoritarian rule gains ground. In an interview with SRF, he also called accepting election results a duty.

Berset said repeated, overlapping crises make it harder for democratic governments to offer people a sense of direction and deliver results. Democracies need to show they can provide alternatives and solutions, he said, warning that the alternative is authoritarian government or dictatorship, where people have no say.

He said democracy requires debate, respect for rules and a willingness to compromise. Winners must also include those who lose, he added. Street protests reflect pressures including inflation, war, the climate crisis, pressure on international law and social divisions, Berset said.

Asked about the possibility that US President Donald Trump’s administration might reject the outcome of this week’s midterm elections, Berset called the idea “pretty crazy.” Elections must be conducted properly, he said, and their results must then be accepted. “It is not an option; it is a duty.” He said he hoped the vote would take place without major problems, while noting that the United States had already experienced some troubling developments.

Berset, a former member of Switzerland’s Federal Council, has served as secretary general of the Council of Europe since 2024. He said people had worked, and sometimes fought, to gain a say in their future, and that defending democracy and its principles was now more important than it had been for a long time.